Rev. David Holwick ZA Esther, #2
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
September 8, 2013
Esther 1:10-20
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I. Miss America is back!
A. The contest returns to the traditional venue, Atlantic City.
1) It is tacky and sexist, but lots of people like it.
2) It is not the world's first beauty contest, by far.
3) The book of Esther contains one of the earliest ones.
a) And it also raises some of those feminist questions.
B. The role of women has changed over the years.
1) The practices in Esther seem quaint to us, yet they lasted
a very long time.
2) The battle-of-the-sexes continues as always, but also
still relevant is God's vision of a true woman.
3) What Esther had to grapple with, all of us - both men and
women - will probably face in our lives.
II. Vashti burns her bra.
A. The Persians knew how to party.
1) The details seem exaggerated - 180 days of festivities for
the elite, then another 7 days of feasting for the
entire city.
2) Historical sources tell us they were extravagant like this.
a) Xerxes is the king who is the enemy of the Greeks
in the movie "300" about Leonidas and the battle
of Thermopylae.
b) He knew how to throw his weight around.
3) At the end of the banquet, Xerxes decides to show off
Vashti, his trophy wife.
a) Apparently, this good-looking woman was made of sterner
stuff.
b) She refuses to come.
4) You might call Vashti the original feminist.
a) She wasn't going to let a man order her around for
frivolous reasons.
b) She didn't actually burn her bra - it turns out that
didn't happen even in the 1968 Miss America contest,
where women threw undergarments in garbage cans.
c) But her attitude of independence was just as radical.
B. Vashti's defiance throws everyone in a panic.
1) The bigger concern - other women will follow suit. 1:18
a) Society will come apart as chaos overtakes families.
b) Where would it all end?
2) Many Christians share this concern today.
a) In the Bible it is known as the principle of "headship,"
based on Ephesians 5:23.
b) Men are supposed to be the leaders of their families -
not tyrants like Xerxes, but sacrificial leaders
like Jesus.
c) How does your family handle this?
1> Plenty of Christian men settle for the Xerxes' model.
3) Vashti is banished from the king's presence.
III. Man is not designed to be alone.
A. This was God's motivation for creating Eve.
1) Most men like to have a woman in their life and research
has shown they are better off with female companionship.
2) So the king's aides hurriedly propose a beauty contest.
a) This way the king will get the best of the best.
b) Hundreds of girls are given 12 months of beauty
treatments. 2:12
c) As part of God's invisible hand, a young Jewish girl
is one of them.
B. She made the best of a difficult situation.
1) There are several parallels with Joseph and Daniel.
a) All three found themselves in a foreign land.
b) Each of them found favor with those put in charge of
them. 2:9
c) All of them come out on top in the end.
2) There are important differences as well.
a) Esther hid her Jewishness (on the advice of her
foster father Mordecai) while Joseph and Daniel
presented themselves as Jews. 2:10
b) Esther ate everything the pagans put before her, while
Daniel refused their rich food.
c) Joseph refused to have relations with Potiphar's wife,
while Esther was willing to marry a pagan king.
C. Esther wins the contest.
1) She is singled out not just to be in the harem, but to
become the new queen. 2:17
2) She also maintains the status quo, and doesn't unnecessarily
upset the king.
IV. The crisis.
A. The nobleman Haman plots to destroy the Jews.
1) Mordecai refuses to bow to him, so Haman plans a genocide.
2) 25 centuries before Hitler, he tells Xerxes they are
different and should be wiped out. 3:9
a) Haman even offers to pay for the whole thing.
b) This "Final Solution" will kill every Jew on a single
day. 3:13
c) Haman is so brazen he even publicizes it.
B. Esther is positioned to do something - but doesn't.
1) We want to see her as a feminine hero but she is more
human than that.
2) She seems more interested in protecting her favored position.
a) When she hears of Mordecai's distress, she sends him
a CARE package instead of finding out why he is
upset. 4:4
1> She doesn't want him to stand out and draw attention
because of his sackcloth.
b) Mordecai sends a message that she has to go to Xerxes
and plead for the Jews. 4:8
1> She is sent a copy of the edict.
c) What is Esther's response?
1> It is too dangerous to talk to the king.
2> If he has not invited you, he will probably kill
you.
A> The Greek historian Herodotus confirms this.
3> She adds an interesting detail in 4:11 - she hasn't
seen the king in a month. 4:11
A> Apparently that harem is too enticing.
B> She fears she has lost her edge with the king,
and she doesn't want to jeopardize her
situation.
C. Mordecai's challenge. 4:13
1) You can't just think of yourself.
a) You are still a Jew, and will be killed with everyone
else.
b) If you are silent, another savior will arise.
c) Perhaps you have put here for such a time as this. 4:14
2) Esther gets her act together.
a) She asks all the Jews to fast three days for her.
1> This probably implies praying to God for her.
b) She will then go to the king and make the request.
1> "If I perish, I perish." 4:16
V. What God wants in a woman - or a man, for that matter.
A. We live in perilous times.
1) Society and its values are changing rapidly, all around us.
2) The world yearns for something better, but often settles
for something coarse and cheap.
a) Consider the turmoil in Syria right now, with multiple
groups shooting and gassing each other.
b) Everyone there wants a country that is peaceful and
more just. Untold thousands will likely perish
before there is permanent change.
3) Perhaps your crisis is closer to home.
a) You don't care about Syria, you want to save your
marriage, or change your job.
b) Inertia can make it difficult to do anything at all.
B. You have what is necessary to deal with it.
1) Not everyone has the power of a Xerxes or the natural
beauty of an Esther.
2) But you do have something that God can use to make a
difference.
3) You have been put where you are, for a reason.
a) If your situation is tougher than what others are
facing, perhaps God has a special plan for you.
b) You have to be faithful with the abilities you have.
C. We have to choose to act with courage.
1) Esther took her life in her hand, and approached the king.
2) He listened to her, and granted her request.
a) She didn't perish after all.
b) But our survival is not the ultimate measure -
faithfulness to God is.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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