the god of love · 1 day ago · 18everything is from god, who has reconciled us to himself through...
TRANSCRIPT
The God of Love
Esther 1-9
1. A People
Condemned
• King Xerxes
Esther 1:1 (CSB) - These events took place
during the days of Ahasuerus, who ruled 127
provinces from India to Cush.
God is in charge of everything,
including our lives and
eternal destinies.
• Haman’s Hatred of the Jews
Esther 3:6 (CSB) - [Haman] planned to
destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews,
throughout Ahasuerus’s kingdom.
Satan hates mankind and
wants to destroy us.
1 Peter 5:8 (CSB) - Your adversary the devil
is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking
for anyone he can devour.
• The Law:
Esther 3:9 (CSB) - “If the king approves, let
an order be drawn up authorizing their
destruction.”
Esther 3:13 (CSB) - Letters were sent by
couriers to each of the royal provinces telling
the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all
the Jewish people—young and old, women
and children—and plunder their possessions
on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar,
the twelfth month.
God’s law dooms us: it
demands punishment
for our sins, and
we are all guilty!
Romans 3:19–20 (CSB) - Now we know
that whatever the law says, it speaks to
those who are subject to the law, so that
every mouth may be shut and the whole
world may become subject to God’s
judgment. 20For no one will be justified in his
sight by the works of the law, because the
knowledge of sin comes through the law.
• The law could not be
changed.
God’s law cannot be
ignored or set aside.
Romans 3:31 (CSB) - Do we then nullify the
law through faith? Absolutely not!
2. A People
Championed
• Queen Esther’s Position:
• Queen Esther’s Position:
1. She was Royalty.
• Queen Esther’s Position:
1. She was Royalty.
2. She was a Jew.
Jesus was both
God and man.
• Queen Esther’s Plan:
Esther 4:16 (CSB) - “Go and assemble all
the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast
for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days,
night or day. I and my female servants will
also fast in the same way. After that, I will go
to the king even if it is against the law. If I
perish, I perish.”
• Queen Esther’s Plan:
1. “I will ask the king to write another
law: greater and stronger than the
first.”
2. “I will approach the King.”
3. “I’m willing to die for my people.”
Christ actually did die for us!
When He died in our place,
He fulfilled God’s law that
demanded payment for our sins.
God’s incredible love allows
Him to provide a way to
Himself for those who
could never get there
themselves.
Love trumps judgment!
Romans 8:3–4 (CSB) - For what the law
could not do …, God did. He condemned sin
in the flesh by sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, 4in
order that the law’s requirement would be
fulfilled in us who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17–21 (CSB) - Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has passed away, and see, the new has
come! 18Everything is from God, who has
reconciled us to himself through Christ. … 19That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the
world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them. … 21He made the
one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so
that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.
1 Peter 3:18 (CSB) - For Christ also
suffered for sins once for all, the righteous
for the unrighteous, that he might bring you
to God.
• Queen Esther’s
Courageous Act:
• Queen Esther’s
Courageous Act:
1. “I am a Jew.”
• Queen Esther’s
Courageous Act:
1. “I am a Jew.”
2. “Haman is the man.”
• Queen Esther’s
Courageous Act:
1. “I am a Jew.”
2. “Haman is the man.”
3. “Please save my people!”
“Father, forgive them!”
• The King’s Response:
• The King’s Response:
1. Haman is hanged.
• The King’s Response:
1. Haman is hanged.
2. Esther is elevated.
• The King’s Response:
1. Haman is hanged.
2. Esther is elevated.
3. Grace is granted.
3. A People
Celebrating
• The Response: Faith
Esther 9:1–2 (ESV) - On the very day when
the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the
mastery over them, the reverse occurred:
the Jews gained mastery over those who
hated them. 2The Jews gathered in their
cities throughout all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who
sought their harm.
God says we must respond
to Him to receive forgiveness:
Believe on Christ!
Romans 3:21–22 (CSB) - But now, apart
from the law, the righteousness of God has
been revealed, attested by the Law and the
Prophets. 22The righteousness of God is
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe, since there is no distinction.
• The Result: Favor and
Safety and Joy
Esther 9:17 (CSB) - They fought on the
thirteenth day of the month of Adar and
rested on the fourteenth, and it became a
day of feasting and rejoicing.
Romans 5:1 (CSB) - Therefore, since we
have been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You can have a relationship with
God right now if you will come
to Him through faith
in Jesus Christ.