Series: Route 66
Esther
“For such a time is this”
Esther 4:13-17
BL: God is present when He seems to be most absent.
Intro…
There are two books in the Bible named after women, Ruth and Esther…
Welcome to Esther, the only book in the Bible where God is not mentioned,
where apparently God is ABSENT…the book itself contains a crisis which arose in
Hebrew history in the days of the mighty Xerxes of Persia…(ON SCREEN)
Read 4:13-17
Amplify…
The Jews were living in Susa, one of four capitals in the great Persian Empire. It
was 475 years before Christ. A hundred years previously, the Jewish people had
been overrun by the Chaldeans and had been taken into exile in Babylon. Fifty
years later, Babylon was conquered by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to
return home. But some of them chose to stay where they were. Mordecai and
Esther were among those Jews who stayed…Esther was an orphan (her name
means STAR)…her parents had been killed and she was raised by a family
member named MORDECAI!
For them, living at the heart of the Persian Empire was a risky business, as the
book of Esther makes clear. Immediately in verse one of chapter one, we are
introduced to King Xerxes, known as Ahasuerus in this story (the Greeks called
him Xerxes).
 I’m sure most of you have heard of Xerxes from history…he was a tyrant who
wanted nothing more than to conquer the Greeks (Xerxes thought he was a
deity)…he tried but there was one problem, ALEXANDER the GREAT.
 During this time, Xerxes was a powerful individual…he was known to be
reckless and very extravagant.
 Chapter one reveals that Xerxes was indulging in a six month party to show
everyone his riches and splendor…(verse 4)
Esther 1:7
“And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other,
with royal wine in abundance, according to the generosity of the king.”
This cat was off the chain!
During the final week of his party, Xerxes wanted to show off his harem…the most
beautiful women in the kingdom were forced to become his wives.
The Queen, Vashti, was known for her beauty…during this drunken party, Xerxes
commanded Vashti to parade herself in front of everyone…I respect Vashti…she
refused! It was never a good thing to disobey a king like Xerxes…most of the time
you never lived to tell about it.
 But instead, Xerxes made a decree that every woman throughout the empire
would honor their husbands…
 And then the king regretted what he did and his inner circle came up with
this grand idea to find the most attractive virgins throughout the kingdom so
they could be presented to Xerxes…(chapter 2)
 And guess who wins the beauty pageant? Esther…this poor girl lost her family
and now she is forced to become a part of Xerxes harem…and what is even
more amazing is that the king had no idea Esther was a Jew.
 And it gets better…Esther became the most popular in the palace…social
media was blowing up…her name was trending on google…and the king loved
Esther so much that according to 2:17, “he set the royal crown upon her
head and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
TURN to BODY:
There are so many lessons to be learned from this story…many truths to
uncover…let me just share a few before we turn to the Lord’s Table:
(ON SCREEN)
1. God positions you where He wants you to be…He has a
special plan for your life.
Intro…
Esther was placed in a royal position not by chance but for a purpose.
Proverbs 16:9
“In his heart a man plan’s his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
Amplify…
 God didn’t make a mistake where He has you today…I think we spend too long
in our life trying to figure out where God wants us to or wishing we were
somewhere else.
 Just be content where you are and allow God to do something with your life
where you are…
 God has plan for my life, and God has a plan for your life…He positions us
where we need to be for His glory…
 Without a doubt, I’m sure Esther was confused about what God was doing
with her…she lost her parents as a child…raised by a family member…I’m sure
she had her own dreams and ambitions…
 And I am positive that she did not expect to become Queen of the Persian
Empire...when she was crowned, she probably thought, “God, why did you
position me in this place?”
 But Esther would discover later the PLAN that God had laid out for her…
Apply…
Ladies and Gentlemen, I don’t care whether you’re 9 or 90, male or female, rich or
poor… God has purpose for your life! Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us run with patience
the race that is set before us…” God has a race he wants us to RUN!
Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship (say I am His workmanship), created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
 God had plan for ESTHER before he laid the foundations of this world…You
see, God doesn’t just have a plan for nations and churches…God has a plan for
individuals.
 God has plan for the plumber as well as the preacher…God has a will for your
life as well as my life…If God calls you to be a plumber and you end up being a
preacher, you are settling for second best.
Transition…
God had plan for Esther and He positioned her in the palace for what was to
come…this story has a king, this story has a queen but it also has an enemy
named HAMAN. In 3:1, Xerxes promoted Haman to Chief of Staff…this dude
thrived on power…he wanted to be bowed too…he wanted others to stroke
his ego but according to chapter 3, Mordecai refused too…and his refusal
would lead to an imminent crisis for the Jews…
 Haman manipulated Xerxes and was able to get a decree signed to exterminate
the Jews.
Esther 4:13
“And the letters were sent by couriers into the all the king’s provinces, to destroy,
to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and
women, in one day, on the 13th day of the 12th month…”
On one day, every person from the Jewish nation was facing death!
This brings us to the next TRUTH…
(ON SCREEN)
2. Your position requires action
Intro…
Esther had been placed in the royal palace…Mordecai was able to get word to her…
4:13-14
“Don’t think for a moment that you will escape there in the palace when all other
Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise
from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What’s more, who can say
but that you have been elevated to the palace for such a time as this?”
Amplify…
Sometimes God’s plan will not make perfect sense, as you examine your
experience…that doesn’t mean that you won’t be required to take risks for
God…the best things in life often come with the greatest risks…
The degree of difficulty is not an indication that God is not in it.
And what does Esther do at this decisive moment?
 She stops denying, stops ignoring, stops making excuses, stops running away.
 She realizes this needs more than her own strength, so she falls back on the
devotional habits of her people and calls on the Jews to fast with her…(READ
4:16)
 She resolves that she will face up to her responsibility and go to the king
uninvited…she recognizes what she must do…she must disclose her
identity as a Jew…
 She takes stock of the realities of her situation and simply says, “IF I
PERISH, I PERISH.”
 Esther goes to the heart of the empire to save her people…SHE
BECOMES A TYPE of CHRIST!
Esther does save her people…she uses her position …her courage, charm and the
providence of God leading her on the way to Xerxes throne! The diabolic scheme
of Haman unravels and Esther is able to persuade Xerxes to end the decree and she
uncovers the plot of Haman…this story teaches us that the time to follow God’s
plan is NOW! God desires each of us to MOVE forward…follow him with abandon!
And when we trust God completely…it brings great VICTORY!
Esther went before the king prepared for the worst case scenario…she got
the very best!
The people were inspired by the faith of one woman and one man that
everything changed in the nation…
(ON SCREEN)
GOD IS PRESENT WHEN HE SEEMS TO BE MOST ABSENT!
(ON SCREEN)
Esther 8:17
“And in every province and city, wherever the kings command and decree came, the
Jews had joy and gladness, a feast (Purim) and a holiday. Then many of the people
of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.”
It always pays to obey God! It will always prove profitable to follow God…
Conclusion…
The world around you is looking for answers…trying to figure out how to make life
work. We may not have all the answers, but we know about a God who does.
There is one final message from this book I want to share with you…
For anyone who has ever been crushed by life, for anyone who has ever felt that his past
is so discolored, so disjointed, so fractured that there is no way in the world God can
make reason and meaning out of it. We are going to learn some unforgettable lessons
from Esther. Here was a little girl who must have cried her heart out at the death of her
parents, bereft and orphaned, yet who, years later, would become key to the very
survival of her people, the Jews. God and God alone can do such things—He, in fact,
does do such things, working silently and invisibly behind the events of history.