Lechem Panim #108 "When All Hearts Are Opened" (Esther 8:1-8) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. It is good to have you with us today as we continue our study of the book of Esther. Now I have to share with you a story I read not long ago that made me laugh.

[The Gossiping Priest— Four priests met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one priest said, “Our people come to us and pour out their hearts confessing certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.”
​In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to R-rated movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to smoking cigars, and the third one confessed to gambling. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, “Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?” Finally he answered, “It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here.”]

It Takes One To Blow The Horn— It is easy to think that our sins will never be exposed; that we can get away with the wrong things we have thought, done, or intended to do. This was certainly true in the life of Haman, who set himself against God and His people Israel. Yet it only takes one person to blow the horn. And in this story it is Esther who, because of her faithfulness to act in obedience according to the will and timing of God, brings to light the wickedness of Haman and thwarts his plans. And what we ought to learn from this is that all sin will ultimately be exposed. 

Numbers 32:23 (ESV)— 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Job 20:27 (ESV)— 27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

Proverbs 26:26 (ESV)— 26 though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 (ESV)— 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Luke 12:2 (ESV)— 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

1 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV)— 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

The Ashley Madison Accounts Exposed—  You will remember that a number of years ago the famous website “Ashley Madison" (a website that was designed to promote marital unfaithfulness by encouraging married people to have an affair) was hacked; and numerous accounts were exposed. And many lives have been drastically affected by that exposure. Some even went so far as to take their own lives. They never thought that their sin would be found out. But it was.

The Exposed Purposes of the Heart— All sin will ultimately be exposed. And that last part of 1 Corinthians 4:5 is scary because it stretches beyond just outward sin into the very realm of the heart and mind. It says the Lord will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. So this brings us to the question, “Are we clean not only outwardly (like the Pharisees were), but inwardly?” Have we allowed Christ to change our hearts? Because one day our hearts and minds are going to be opened and the real depth of our Christian faith revealed. How deep did we allow Christ to touch us?

Haman’s Sins— Our sins will find us out. And Haman’s most certainly were. In the king’s eyes, he was guilty of three capital crimes. [One, he manipulated the king in planning to kill the queen’s people. Two, he was perceived to accost the queen. Three, he planned to execute a man whom the king had just greatly honored for extreme loyalty to the kingdom.]

God Reverses the Attack— And after his dark deeds have finally been revealed Haman is punished. And the very pole he set up for Mordecai to be impaled on, which towered above the city in its height to make a display of Mordecai’s corpse, he himself is impaled on. Now your translation may say that Haman was hung. But it is not what we typically think of when we think of hanging. He wasn’t hung with a noose, but on a pole. And the [Hebrew word translated “poles” literally means “tree” or “wooden object.”] And it was actually common practice during that time to impale victims on wooden stakes. And sometime it was an actual method of execution, but more often criminals were killed by other means and their bodies then impaled for public display. Now having said that, the [Persians {also} practiced crucifixion, and the punishment spoken of here might refer to that practice: impaling people alive on wooden posts and allowing them to die of exposure.]

The Attack Reversed— Now I know all of this is very graphic. But it very clearly demonstrates an important Biblical truth. And that is that God turns upon the very heads of the enemies of His people the persecution they themselves had sought to inflict. And this is the central theme we see in these closing chapters of Esther; God reverses the attack and His sovereign plan remains un-thwarted. And we will explore this more in our time together today. Go ahead and look with me at chapter 8, starting at verse 1…

Esther 8:1-2 (ESV)— 1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. 2 And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Haman’s Estate Given to Esther— And so with the King’s giving Mordecai that signet ring, he is giving Mordecai the very power and authority that had previously been Haman’s. And ironically, Mordecai would never have had that power had Haman not sought to destroy him to begin with. And the next turn of events is just as ironic. [Haman’s plot to destroy Mordecai leads to Mordecai’s acquiring both Haman’s position and property.]  He gets control of Haman’s estate. And what is important for us to note is that it is not Mordecai who takes that vengeance. It is God who brought it about by His sovereign hand. And this is how it is with us as well. God stands with us and He will bring justice; we never have to seize it for ourselves. And similarly, it is also God who protected Mordecai. Consider that Mordecai very likely knew nothing about Haman's plot to hang him. And yet despite that, God showed Himself to be a shield for Mordecai as well. 
    Now it was Persian custom during that time for the property of a traitor to be returned to the king. And in this case the king gives that estate over to Esther, who places Mordecai in charge of it. But for Esther, this is not enough; because her ultimate concern was not for honor; or for an estate; but for her people. Therefore it says in verse 3…

Esther 8:3-7 (ESV)— 3 Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. 4 When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, 5 Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. 6 For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. 

A Counter-Decree— Now I want to point out that the King had promised to grant Esther whatever she requested. He said, “Even up to half my kingdom, it will be given you.” And yet here we find that he is unable to grant Esther’s request; for doing so would mean rescinding the decree he had already made; something that he was not legally allowed by Medo-Persian law to do. And the reason behind this law could very likely be because revoking a previously made law would cause the king to lose face and would also undermine his authority. And so as frustrating as this is, we find that the decree of death instituted by Haman cannot be revoked by a mere word from the king. Yet although King Ahasuerus cannot revoke the first decree he has made, he can institute a counter-decree. It says in verse 8 and following...

Esther 8:8 (ESV)— 8 But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.”

Sin’s Consequences Cannot Be Rescinded— And we will see that this is exactly what Mordecai will do; he issues a counter-decree. Now the idea that the decree of death cannot merely be taken back is very important because it reflects (in a way) the larger decree of death pronounced on all of mankind as the natural result of sin. Now we know the king’s decree was unjust here. However, God’s decree against sin and the penalty of death that is the result of that sin is not unjust. And in a similar way, God cannot simply call off His decree without compromising who He is as a just and Holy God. 

All Sin Will Be Punished— All sin will (and must) be punished. Now in and throughout the book of Esther, we see the effects of sin. And as we know from scripture, sin always leads to death. And the lie of sin is that you can continue in it without there being any consequences. It should be noted that the first thing Satan ever says about sin is, "You shall not surely die." The lie of sin is that we can engage in it without consequence. Yet what we must realize is that all sin must and will be punished. 

​God’s Counter-Decree— An author I was reading just recently pointed out that: [Just as {Ahasuerus/} Xerxes king of Persia could not simply rescind the first decree of death, God, King of the universe, cannot simply rescind the decree of death pronounced in the Garden of Eden against humanity. Instead, he issues a counter-decree of life, the gospel of Jesus Christ.] Now I think he’s exactly right. The power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ lies in the fact that although God’s decree of punishment for sin cannot be undone, a counter-decree can and was made to preserve us from that death. Jesus Christ Himself became the recipient of God’s punishment. Jesus Himself was God’s counter-decree against sin and death. God’s judgement fell on Him, therefore paying for our sin and liberating us. And that salvation is available to anyone who is willing to receive and follow Christ. And if you have never done that, I encourage you to simply ask Him today to forgive your sins; and tell Him that you receive that counter-decree against the sin in your life and that you want to follow Him. And (as all of God’s people were delivered in this book) so you will be delivered also and given eternal life in Him. Choose Christ today. Amen.