Life In A World That Has Forgotten God

Preacher:

Main Scripture: Esther 2:1-18

Series:

Life In A World That Has Forgotten God

In this chapter the author shifts his attention back and forth from those who are non-Jews to those who are Jews. Instead of showing contrasts, the author shows similarities in the way the two groups live.
SEARCH FOR A NEW QUEEN FOR THE UNSPIRITUAL HEATHEN AHASUERUS (Esther 2:1-4)
How long has it been since Vashti was removed? Between the time Vashti is banished and Esther takes her place, four years have passed by. What happened during those intervening years?
During the years just after Vashti was sent away, Ahasuerus fought with Greece and was badly defeated. When he came back he missed Vashti. So a new queen was sought to take Vashti’s place.
A thousand of the most beautiful women joined the king’s harem. 1000 to satisy one man! God who works all things together for His glory and our good, providentially uses this messy situation to bring Esther to the king’s palace, so that she can ultimately deliver His people.
THE SPIRITUAL JEWS: MORDECAI AND ESTHER (Esther 2:1-18)
They were two relatively insignificant people. No one would have believed that this Esther in the king’s harem would one day be the saviour of the Jews. But God chose Esther.
After her twelve months of beauty treatments, Esther’s turn came to go to the king. She won favour in his eyes and was made queen.
One of the temptations for God’s people in exile was assimilation. Cyrus the great, had announced that the Jews could return to the land. So the Jews in Susa were not compelled to be there. But most of the Jews, including Esther and Mordecai, did not return to Jerusalem because they were getting assimilated into the society. They were not like David and Jeremiah who wrote of their love for the house of God and Jerusalem. They even had names of Persian gods and did not seem to mind non-kosher food.
Although they were gradually getting assimilated into the society as a whole, the Jews of Persia, retained their identity as a people (Esther 3:8).
In the same way, many Christians have compromised their stand and made serious mistakes. They have messed up badly. What happens now? In such situations, whether the mistake was made innocently or because of deliberate disobedience, this account of Esther encourages and comforts us, because we can see that our God is able to use our moral failures and turn it into something redemptive and glorious in the end.
But remember we cannot continue in sin, and even when we do not continue in sin, more often than not we will have to bear the consequences of our compromise, our moral failure and sin, even when we are fully forgiven. The comfort is that 1. We are forgiven, and 2. in addition to being forgiven, God is able to make something beautiful out of that broken situation.