Introduction

Good morning, everyone. We will continue our study of the Book of Esther. I have studied this book more than a decade ago. Although the previous study was already very good, I feel that it is necessary to study it again. The theme of this first chapter is "God Prepares Esther for the Position of Queen."

In fact, the story told in this chapter is before Esther appears on the scene. Someone is already sitting in the position of queen. Unless she is removed, Esther will not have the opportunity to take office. That is to say, the reason why Esther was able to sit in the position of queen is because God eliminated the old queen.

Can we see the hand of God? We cannot! But the hand of God is indeed at work, because God wants to prepare Esther to be a vessel to save the nation of Israel. God wants to save the Israelites from the danger of national extinction through Esther.

Historical Background

Some time ago, we studied the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. In fact, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther were roughly in the same era. Let's sort out the timeline a bit and clarify the historical background.

In 538 BC, King Cyrus issued a decree to send Zerubbabel back to Jerusalem to build the temple and city walls. Later, Cyrus's son Cambyses succeeded to the throne. Zerubbabel received Cambyses's decree to stop building the temple. However, Cambyses reigned for only eight years before he was overthrown. Then Cambyses's brother-in-law inherited the throne, named King Darius, who issued a decree to allow Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple and city walls.

During the reign of King Darius, the temple and city walls were repaired, and Zerubbabel restored a God-centered way of life in Jerusalem. However, King Darius died after reigning for thirty-six years, and his son Ahasuerus succeeded him as king, who is the king in the Book of Esther.

At that time, King Cyrus was very good to the Jews, but his son King Cambyses was not good to the Jews. And Cambyses's brother-in-law, King Darius, was also very good to the Jews! But after King Darius died, his son King Ahasuerus was not good to the Jews again. It was in this era that Esther was used by God.

After reigning for twenty-one years, King Ahasuerus was succeeded by King Artaxerxes, and God raised up Ezra, who was sent to Jerusalem by King Artaxerxes. This corresponds to what the Book of Ezra tells. More than ten years later, King Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah to Judah as governor. King Artaxerxes reigned for forty-one years. These kings were used by God! Esther was the queen of King Ahasuerus.

During the Reign of King Ahasuerus, Israel Almost Faced National Extinction

During the reign of King Ahasuerus, the main story is about Esther. During this period, the Agagites were given importance. Saul did not kill King Agag back then. The Agagites were the Amalekites. God had said, "Israel and the Amalekites will be enemies for generations."

During the reign of King Ahasuerus, there was a prime minister named Haman, who was an Agagite. The Agagites almost wiped out the Israelite nation! But God saw further and had long prepared Esther to be a vessel used by God to save Israel from destruction.

God Had Prepared Long Ago

God sees things in the long term. He foresaw that Haman would kill the Israelite nation in the future. If He didn't prepare early, would it work? Many Christians are confused about whether God can save. When we read Bible stories, we also easily become confused, wondering why only Esther and Mordecai can save? Could it be that without these people, God cannot save? Just like in the Book of Judges, if there were no sword of Gideon, could God not have saved?

I will give you a concept: God works with man. If you do not agree with this concept, you will not be able to understand God! However, it is not that God cannot save. God's arm has never been shortened, but history has proven one thing: God always works through people.

If there were no Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, or Esther, could God do it? Yes! But God just likes to manifest His glory through Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and Esther. So the most basic concept I am giving you is that God works with man, and God prepares people.

Similarly, if there were no such wretch as I, could God restore His entire theological doctrine in this generation? Yes! But God is using us to correct many absurd things in theology. I am especially grateful to God. What virtue or ability do I have that I can be used by God? In fact, brothers and sisters, you will all be used by God. You are all being used by God in your respective positions.

God had long prepared a position for these people. God prepared them to receive the honour from God. This is called Mingding! Why are you living? If Esther lived only for the glory and wealth of the queen, that would be bad! God would think, forget it! It's useless! So God sees far, He has prepared long ago.

God's preparation is especially miraculous, beyond your imagination. Sometimes, in order to give confidence to brothers and sisters who are looking for a job, I say, "Even if there is no job, God will create a job for you."

How many queens are there in the world? There can only be one legitimate queen. The rest are called concubines. The two are not on the same level at all. So God abolished the old queen. Although we cannot see the hand of God, the hand of God is in this, because God wants to reserve this position for Esther.

So our brothers and sisters must know that as you go along, miraculous things will happen. That is why I always advise everyone to love God. Sometimes I feel that I am being naggy, but loving God is so good! I have loved God since the day I believed in Him.

Of course, everyone's experience is different. What I have experienced is just the miracle of healing from illness, but I have proven one thing: this God especially loves me. But it is not that I did something for Him and then He loves me. This is not a transaction. But He loves me, He just wants to help me! Later, I recognized: this God is good, He doesn't want anything from me, He is a treasure, so I must hold on to Him and love Him well!

How do I love God? I have not missed a single Sunday since I believed in the Lord. This is amazing! Before, the cell group leaders in the church led Bible studies and prayers were quite bad, but I never missed one. Why? Because I have set aside my time for God, wouldn't that solve the problem?

I love my God, not because of the cell group leader or pastor of that church, but because I want to set aside this time. In fact, this cannot prove that people love God, but thank God, because I love God, so a very miraculous thing happened to me.

I am a person who loves to learn. As I learned, my immediate superior resigned. Originally, I was stuck under him. Unless I went to another place to find a job, I would have to be under him, but that little leader resigned, so I took his position. I continued to learn, and soon, the manager above me also resigned, and I took the manager's position. Who made them leave? It is because of loving God, so God prepares for you.

So I often advise brothers and sisters, do not think that loving God is a great dedication, in fact, loving God is a great grace! Loving God is not a loss, it is gaining benefits! I also hope that brothers and sisters can share the benefits of this gospel with me, then God will definitely prepare a job for you.

But some brothers and sisters do not know how good God is, so they always miss some of God's grace. Isn't this very unlucky? How can people live without grace? For example, you like that job, but that job does not need you, you have no way to do it.

Later, I became unemployed, but now looking back, unemployment is so good! This way I can wholeheartedly build the church. Because before I was unemployed, I didn't want to come out to build the church, I just wanted to make money and then work for free in the church, but this is not good, in fact, it is a big loss. Later, I wholeheartedly served God, and looking back now, I found that loving God is the best, you can get great grace.

Remember, God has prepared your job. If you are really a queen, God has also prepared a queen's position for you; if you are really a prime minister, God has prepared a prime minister's position for you. The jobs of Joseph, Nehemiah, and Daniel were all prepared for them by God.

So our brothers and sisters must not treat God as a tool. This is my own personal experience. Some people say this is accidental, a coincidence, but this kind of accident and coincidence is really good! Then why don't you have such accidents and coincidences? Because I love God, so I can experience this kind of accident and coincidence, and relying on myself is a fool!

In fact, I am a relatively proud person in my bones. I always feel that my learning ability and all aspects of ability are not bad. Even in a very bad environment, I have climbed out, but what can my ability decide? I like that job, but that job doesn't like me, it's useless!

Later I knew that relying on one's own strength is simply like an ant trying to stop a chariot. The mantis thinks it is very powerful, but what is it bragging about? It thinks its two claws are very powerful, but it is useless. No matter how much strength it has, it cannot decide anything.

Esther is very beautiful, as beautiful as an angel. If the old queen is not eliminated, she will not be able to be queen for the rest of her life. It will take more than twenty years for the next king to succeed. From her twenties to her forties, wouldn't she become an old woman? Can a woman in her forties be chosen as queen? It just so happened that at this time, God had prepared long ago.

Our brothers and sisters must know that what God has prepared for those who love Him is what the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and the heart has not imagined. What God prepared for Esther was also what her eyes had not seen, her ears had not heard, and her heart had not imagined.

Why are some people smart? If you want to be smart, I hope you learn from me and love God well. Thank the Lord! Before I was forty years old, I became a senior manager. Although it was tiring, my monthly salary was equivalent to several months' salary for others, isn't that good? God had prepared long ago! Whether you are lacking in finances or work, God can solve it, but God cannot solve whether you love God.

The Queen Acts Foolishly

In the third year of his reign, King Ahasuerus gave a feast for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles from the provinces were present. For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendour and glory of his majesty.

When these days were over, the king gave a feast, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the royal palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa. The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars; (Esther 1:2-6)

On the seventh day, when the king was in high spirits, he sent people to call Queen Vashti to wear the queen's crown and come before the king. It is said that the queen should walk over happily, like a big star walking the red carpet, she should be happy. But it just so happened that the queen was in a bad mood that day.

In fact, this is unreasonable, but God made her feel depressed and uncomfortable, and then she lost her temper. God wanted her to lose her temper and act foolishly. Could she not lose her temper and act foolishly? Such a shining opportunity to appear, but she acted foolishly and did not go. How could she know what the result of not going would be?

As a result, the king had already ordered to invite the queen, so the red carpet was laid out. In fact, letting her walk the red carpet was to give the king face. The king had spent 180 days, and then for seven days they were drinking and making merry there. He wanted to show off the prosperity of the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire was a very powerful empire, the most powerful empire in the world.

Why was the queen's mind like this that day? She herself could not explain it. This is called God's preparation. God wanted to remove her, so He made her think like this and do like this. So later, Queen Vashti almost lost her head, was thrown into the cold palace, and removed from the position of queen.

Have you noticed that some of our brothers and sisters, when that foolish energy comes up, is similar to Vashti? Where does that foolish energy come from? It comes from the spiritual realm. God let this spirit attach to Vashti, and she became like this. It is not to say that she was like this from the beginning, but on that day, God prepared her bad mood, prepared her to be thrown into the cold palace. The things in this world are controlled in the spiritual realm.

Remove the Queen's Position

King Ahasuerus was extremely angry at the time. He had never been so angry before. In fact, God was also fueling the fire behind this. That feeling was very strong. Then the king asked the ministers of the Persian Empire, because all the king's affairs had to be inquired from those who knew etiquette and law. He was surrounded by enlightened and wise men who were extremely intelligent. He asked, "What should be done about this matter?"

Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, "Queen Vashti has done wrong not only against the king but also against all the nobles and peoples of all the provinces of King Ahasuerus; (Esther 1:16)

My goodness! This is no longer a matter of one person, but a matter of the foundation of the entire empire. This is called "raising the stakes." Before, this was a matter of willfulness, but now the nature has changed. The queen has corrupted the foundation of the empire. Then what do you say to do? Then he said:

For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ (Esther 1:17)

Isn't that right? If the queen does this, what will the wives of the ministers do? Do the same! If the wives of the ministers do this, and then the second, third, fourth, and fifth-rank officials all do this, then the country will not be a country. Then he said:

This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end to disrespect and discord. Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the law of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Ahasuerus. Also, let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she is. (Esther 1:18-19)

See how powerful these words are? If another minister said in a different tone, "The queen was not feeling well that day." Then the big things might be reduced to small things, and the small things might be reduced to nothing, and then it would be fine. But when Memukan said this, it was bad. Completely remove the queen's position and give the position to someone who is better than her. This opened up the matter of selecting a queen later, and then Esther was selected. Later, Esther became the salvation of the Israelite nation.

Did anyone pray for this? No one prayed! But God was silently doing these things behind the scenes, because God prepared salvation. In fact, sometimes when you encounter some things, God has long prepared for them. The key is, are you the person worthy of God's preparation for you?

Some people are like Vashti all day long, wanting to act foolishly, then act foolishly. In this way, don't say that God will prepare good things for you, it is already a great grace not to prepare some anger for you! Then you live like a Vashti all day long, how can you be like God at all?

Our brothers and sisters must be careful. Do you think it is as simple as suddenly acting foolishly? You don't know when you will provoke God's anger. Once you feel that you are right, and then you want to act foolishly, you don't restrain your preferences at all, and you follow your desires arbitrarily, then sooner or later you will fall into the hand of God's anger. These prove that God had prepared long ago and laid the groundwork for Esther to be established as queen.

I hope that brothers and sisters can be people who work with God! You cannot be willful, you can only follow God's will, then you will be powerful, and God will prepare a very good job for you. Just like Daniel was a prime minister in the Persian Empire, Joseph was a prime minister in Egypt, Nehemiah was a cupbearer before King Artaxerxes, and later became the governor of Judah, and Zerubbabel was also sent to Judah as governor.

So everyone must deeply learn a lesson, do not be Vashti, be like Esther, and become a vessel that God can use. This sharing is over here, may God bless everyone!

null

null