The God who changes things

Text Esther 8 Date 09/02/14 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We are looking at the Book of Esther and this week we come to Esther Chapter 8. In this chapter we learn what happened after Haman's wicked plot to destroy the Jews was revealed to King Xerxes by his Jewish Queen Esther. We have mentioned several times that one of the peculiar things about Esther is that it never mentions God's name. Even though God's name never appears it is clear that he is to the one who is behind the various things that happen that lead to the exposure of evil Haman and the saving of the Jews through Mordecai and Esther.

One of the things that this book assures us is that God is the God who changes things. He has the power to change people and change situations and that ought to be a great encouragement to us if we are in a situation that we are unhappy with and that seems impossible to change. We may be able to do very little but if God is at work he can change things very easily.

In Isaiah 66 the prophet says

Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? God can do such a thing. Jeremiah similarly has God saying I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jesus himself tells us that With God all things are possible.

1. God can make changes in ownership and government

1. He can change ownership as he chooses

At the end of Chapter 7 we read of the death of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Chapter 8 begins by saying That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. There is evidence to say that in the ancient world and in Persia in particular the property of criminals reverted to the crown. Haman's estate then (his house, his property, his wealth) was in the King's hands. He chooses to invest it in the hands of his Jewish Queen Esther. If we are tempted to feel sorry for Haman's wife then we ought to remember that she was one of the ones who urged him to build the gallows for Mordecai and was guiltless. No doubt the rest of the family were implicated too.

So here we see God turning the tables. Haman the enemy of God's people not only dies but also loses his estate to a woman who is a Jew, the people he opposed.

It is a reminder of God's power to give and take as he chooses. Job understood this. He says in his trouble The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.

Just a few years ago, I was reading, flamboyant billionaire Eike Batista from Brazil was boasting that he'd soon be the world's richest man. But his fall was deep and fast.

Now 56, Mr Batista's fortune has reportedly dwindled to less than one percent of the $36.4 billion that Forbes magazine estimate he was worth in early 2012.

His OGX oil company filed for bankruptcy protection recently in a stunning reverse for the champion speedboat racer who came to symbolise Brazil's economic boom.

In 2005 Roger Griffiths won almost £1.8 million on the National Lottery and embarked on a luxury lifestyle. Eight years later he had less than £10 in his pocket. The mansion, Porsche and private school places for the kids are already a fading memory.

Griffiths lost it all through quirky overspending (he spent over £20,000 reforming his student band and making a record) and a series of poor investments that he thought could double his fortune. He now relies on his family to help him pay day-to-day expenses. Another UK man Michael Carroll won over £8.1 million in 2002 and by 2012 was surviving on benefits.

Whatever wealth you may have, whatever goods, it is God who has decided that you should have them. If they are taken away he has decided that too.

At the moment certain men have certain powers and certain spiritual forces are given certain advantages but when God chooses this situation will be reversed. It will come to an end. He can bring about such changes when he will. Remember that.

2. He can change positions of power as he chooses

We also read that Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. We learn that The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. The signet ring was not only an insignia of power but it conveyed real power to the one who possessed it too. Esther we are told appointed him over Haman's estate.

So here is the reversal, the turning of the tables even more graphically represented. Haman has gone right down – he has lost his life, his estate and his position. Meanwhile Mordecai has shot up – he has not only escaped Haman's gallows but he has Haman's position and is even in charge of Haman's estate.

It is a reminder of God's power to raise up one and bring down another as he chooses. Psalm 75:6, 7 says No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. He brought down Haman and he also raises up Mordecai. The choice is his.

In 1979 the Shah of Iran was deposed and had to flee into exile in Egypt where he soon died. Just in the last few years we have seen heads of state deposed in Yemen, Libya, Egypt (twice) and Tunisia.

Whatever power or authority you may have, whatever influence, it is God who has decided that you should have them. If they are taken away he has decided that too.

At the moment certain men have a certain authority and certain spiritual forces are given certain powers to do things but when God chooses this situation will be reversed. It will come to an end. He can bring about such changes when he will. Remember that. God is a God who changes things

2. God can make changes in law

It is a little surprising perhaps tor read in verse 3 how Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. Surely she now has all that she wants. But no the king's concern has only been with her so far and she I concerned for all her people. Further, the law that Haman framed was still on the statute books and so She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. In verse 4 we read that once again the king extended the gold sceptre to Esther and she arose and stood before him. (5) If it pleases the king, she said, and if he regards me with favour and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, see how diplomatic she is. She knows that the Persians prided themselves on the unchangeable nature of their laws and so she says let an order be written overruling not the Law of the Persians or the law of Xerxes but the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces.

She adds movingly For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family? She is another Moses. By faith her standing as Queen is not the things that drives her. She identifies with the people of God rather than enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. She regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ the Messiah to come as of greater value than the treasures of Persia, because (s)he was looking ahead to his reward. Again one cannot help but admire her devotion to her people and her wisdom in all this.

And she gets what she wants. 7, 8

King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows. That has been dealt with but Xerxes sees that he needs to do more. Now write another decree in the king's name he says in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, to Mordecai and Esther who he is now trusting in and seal it with the king's signet ring - for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked. The previous law cannot be revoked but a new law can be framed to counteract the previous one.

We then see the swift and powerful bureaucratic machine that existed in Persia at this time and was mentioned earlier swing into action. The wording reflects what was written back in Chapter 3 about the earlier decree 9, 10

At once the royal secretaries were summoned - on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also (an important addition this time) to the Jews in their own script and language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king's signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king. Faster horses than usual seem to have been used this time.

The way it worked was that (11, 12)

The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate (a legal phrase we have had before) any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies. The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

So the Jews are given a number of rights – to assemble together (to muster an army), to protect themselves from the expected attack; to kill any attackers; to plunder the property of their enemies. The right to do this was limited to one particular day. It was not to be an ongoing vendetta.

We are told (13) that

A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers, riding the royal horses, raced out, spurred on by the king's command. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

Again it is a turning of the tables, a reversal of the situation. This time it is done through law – and even where a law could not technically be reversed. That will not stop God. His law prevails and the Jews are saved from their enemies.

It should hearten us to think how easily God can reverse laws. An obvious law that runs counter to God's word in or country today is the abortion law. Since the 1967 abortion act was implemented in this country about 8 million babies have died. The vast majority have been killed under the social clause of the legislation, which effectively paved the way for elective abortions. Over five hundred babies are aborted in this country every day. Can God change a law like that? He can. We should pray that he will.

The Bible talks about the law of sin and death. We can think of sin and death as a law at work in all of us. The penalty for sin is death and because we sin we will surely die. But the bible also speaks of being set free from the law of sin and death. That can happen because God can do it. He can set you free from that law by joining you to Christ who never sinned and who died on behalf of sinners. All you have to do is to trust in Christ. He does it all. He can change your situation. Be in no doubt.

3. God can change people's attitudes

In the final two verses the reversal, the turning of the table, the way God changes things is again emphasised.

1. Susa is changed

In verse 15 we read that

Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration.

This contrasts with the statement in Chapter 3 that the city if Susa was bewildered when Haman was in power and he had his law passed against the Jews. Now Susa is happy again and there is a joyous celebration. Why the change? God has brought about the change. He can change this city too. Let's never doubt it.

2. The Jews are changed

In verses 16 and 17 we are told that

For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honour. In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting always a big theme in this book and celebrating.

What joy an edict can bring. It is like the joy that the good news about Jesus Christ brings to his people as the message goes out. Pray that God's people will be renewed and rejoice as they look to God.

3. Others are changed

And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. Interestingly there were conversions or at least people became Jewish Proselytes. This is again a change that God brings about. He alone can change people's hearts so that they trust in him. He can change your heart and my heart and the heart of anyone.