09/29/10
Pastor John W. Brown
Calvary Chapel Central Phoenix
Outlines:
http://www.calvarycentral.org/teachings.PHP
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ESTHER
Chapter 07
BANQUET BACKFIRE
I.
INTRODUCTION
A.
Last week in our study of Esther, we saw the
pride of Haman leading to his own destruction!
1.
Haman told Xerxes what he thought the king
should do to honor a certain man the king had in mind.
a)
The only problem was that his pride and ego
wouldn’t even let him consider that there could be another man in the kingdom
worthy of this honor other than him.
2.
So, when the king said, “Esth 6:10 . . . "Hurry, take the
robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who
sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have
spoken."
a)
Haman became responsible for carrying out his
dream in the life of the man he hated the most - Mordecai!
b)
Haman’s whole life is beginning to unravel right
before his own eyes because of his hatred of Mordecai!
(1)
What he does not see – is that behind the scenes
- he is fighting against the Lord!
B.
As we closed our study last week, the king’s
attendants had just arrived at Haman’s house to take him to the second banquet
with the king and queen!
II.
Esth 7:1-2 (NKJV)
So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. (2)
And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther,
"What [is] your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what
[is] your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!"
A.
Have you ever been in a situation where, what
was really going on was quite different that what you thought?
1.
This happens with parents.
a)
They think everything is fine because that is
what they are being told -only to find out later that their son or daughter is
not the person they thought they were.
2.
Businesses fail because they don’t have a true
picture of profit and loss.
B.
Likewise, often in life, the opinion we have of
ourselves is quit different what other people think of us.
1.
Haman is our prime example in the book of
Esther.
a)
Until a few hours ago, he thought he was the
king’s favorite!
b)
Now he is the only one invited to this banquet
with the king and queen.
(1)
He has to be trying to figure out what is going
on in his life.
(2)
Haman is going through what is commonly referred
to as a “reality check.”
(a)
His fantasy is about to line up with his
reality!
C.
The king asks
for the third time "What [is] your petition, Queen
Esther? It shall be granted you. And what [is] your request, up to half the
kingdom? It shall be done!"
III.
Esth 7:3-4 (NKJV)
Then Queen Esther answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight,
O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and
my people at my request. (4) "For we have
been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.
Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue,
although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss."
A.
Esther finally mustered up enough courage to
tell the king what weighed so heavily on her heart.
1.
Remember, a long time ago, at the beauty
contest, cousin Mordecai told Esther not to reveal to anyone that she was a Jew!
a)
She proceeds to tell the king that an evil
person has sold her and her people, not just into slavery, but unto death!
(1)
Haman is probably thinking, “What are the odds
that this would happen to Esther’s people as well as those rotten Jews that I’m
having killed?
b)
Gracious Esther tells her husband if they had
been sold as slaves only, she would not have even bothered the king, but this
meant their destruction.
(1)
The king is furious!
IV.
Esth 7:5 (NKJV)
So King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) answered and
said to Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume
in his heart to do such a thing?"
A.
In his mind, he has to be thinking, “Who in
their right mind would be stupid enough to have the queen killed?”
1.
This reminds me of a story in 2Sam Chapter 12
when King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah
killed in battle.
a)
2 Sam 12:1-7
Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him:
"There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. (2) "The rich [man] had exceedingly many flocks
and herds. (3) "But the poor [man] had
nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it
grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and
drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
(4) "And a traveler came to the rich man,
who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for
the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared
it for the man who had come to him." (5)
So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan,
"[As] the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! (6) "And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb,
because he did this thing and because he had no pity." (7) Then
Nathan said to David, "You [are] the man! . . . .
b)
Had King Xerxes so quickly forgotten that he had
a part in all of this!
c)
As we have pointed out before, it is much easier
to see the sins in others, than to see our own!
(1)
But in reality - the King nor Haman completely
puts it all together until the next verse.
V.
Esth 7:6 (NKJV)
And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked Haman!" So
Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
A.
What can Haman say? He is caught in the trap of his own hatred
and pride.
1.
God told His people in Isai 54:17 No weapon formed against you
shall prosper, And every tongue [which] rises against you in judgment You shall
condemn. This [is] the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their
righteousness [is] from Me," Says the Lord.
B.
People, America and the world take notice: As J. Vernon McGee said, “God is going to
bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse the Jews.”
1.
So it is with those who have placed their faith
in Jesus as Savior.
a)
All the injustices will be “righted” when our
savior returns!
C.
This was a battle Haman couldn’t win because he
was fighting against the Lord.
1.
We too must pick our battles carefully.
a)
They must be for the sake of righteousness, not
because of pride and arrogance!
D.
The king is so upset, that he goes out to the
garden to put it all together.
VI.
Esth 7:7 (NKJV)
Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine [and] [went] into the
palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for
he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.
A.
When we are fighting against God, every move we
make is a wrong one!
VII.
Esth 7:8 (NKJV)
When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of
wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther [was]. Then the king said,
"Will he also assault the queen while I [am] in the house?" As the
word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
A.
It is easy to understand Haman’s terror.
1.
He was a desperate man, and desperate men do
stupid things.
2.
He was practically mauling the queen begging for
mercy when the king returned from the garden and saw him in physical in contact
with Esther.
3.
He would have been better off to have followed the
king to beg for mercy and explain the situation, but as I said, desperate men
do stupid things!
a)
And most importantly, he is fighting against
God!
VIII.
Esth 7:9-10 (NKJV)
Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, "Look! The gallows,
fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's
behalf, is standing at the house of Haman." Then the king said, "Hang
him on it!" (10) So they hanged Haman on
the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided.
A.
Gala 6:7 tell us: Do not be deceived, God is not
mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
1.
The king became judge and jury and executioner.
2.
Matt 7:1-4 (NKJV) "Judge not, that you be not
judged. (2)
"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the
measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (3)
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not
consider the plank in your own eye? (4)
"Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck from your
eye'; and look, a plank [is] in your own eye?
IX.
CONCLUSION
A.
Haman had set himself up as the judge, jury, and
executioner of Mordecai.
1.
The Lord just used the same “measuring cup” for
him!
2.
We must be careful about our judgment of other
people because we will be judged with the same “cup.”
3.
Also, there is another King who is judge, jury,
and executioner if He needs to be!
a)
So, Do
not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also
reap.
b)
This should serve as a lesson for us all.
(1)
The Lord is always at work – often behind the
scenes – but always on side of righteousness.
(2)
If we stay on that side, His side, we will be
fine.