Turn with me in the Old Testament to the book of Esther. And I must admit that I didn't pick this text myself. When my daughter heard that I was preaching, she said, oh, do it on Esther. So, I had to follow her plea there. But the book of Esther, and before we read that, And it works very well in conjunction with Belgic Confession, Article 13. And so we won't refer to it throughout, but I think this passage very helpfully illustrates what's taught there. So I'll read first from the Belgic Confession, Article 13, page 75 in the back. The title is The Providence of God and His Government of All Things. We believe that at the same God, after He had created all things, did not forsake them or give them up to fortune or chance, but that He rules and governs them according to His holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without His appointment. Nevertheless, God neither is the author of nor can be charged with the sins which are committed. For his power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible that he orders and executes his work in the most excellent and just manner, even then when devils and wicked men act unjustly. And as to what he does surpassing human understanding, we will not curiously inquire into further than our capacity will admit of, but with the greatest humility and reverence adore the righteous judgments of God which are hid from us, contending ourselves that we are pupils of Christ to learn only those things which he has revealed to us in his word without transgressing these limits. This doctrine affords us unspeakable consolation since we are taught thereby that nothing can befall us by chance but by the direction of our most gracious and heavenly Father who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping all creatures so under his power that not a hair of our head, for they are all numbered, nor a sparrow can fall to the ground without the will of our Father, in whom we do entirely trust, being persuaded that he so restrains the devil and all our enemies that without his will and permission they cannot hurt us. And therefore we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans who say that God regards nothing but leaves all things to chance. So now turn to Esther 1, and we will read the entire chapter. This is what happened during the time of Xerxes. The Xerxes, who ruled over 127 provinces, stretching from India to Cush. At that time, King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa. And in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes and the nobles of the provinces were present. For a full 180 days, he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. When these days were over, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days in the enclosed garden of the king's palace for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. The garden had hangings of white and blue linen fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on the mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl, and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other. and the royal wine was abundant in keeping with the king's liberality. By the king's command, each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagatha, Zethar, and Karkas, to bring before him Queen Vashti wearing her royal crown in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. But when the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. And since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times and were closest to the king. Karshina, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meris, Mersana, and Memukhan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom. According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti, he asked. She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her. Then Mamukon replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king, but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come. This very day, the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen's conduct will respond to all the king's nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord. Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also, let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she. Then, when the king's edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands from the least to the greatest. The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucon proposed. He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script, and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people's tongue that every man should be ruler over his own house. Now, as we look at this text, I think one thing we need to do first is ask who it was originally written to. We are certainly those to whom it's been given for our edification so that we might know more of God and his plan of salvation. But there was a specific first audience that this book was written for. And the audience were those who were in exile or were after the exile. Israel and Judah sinned against the Lord. So he brought the Assyrians first against Israel, then the Babylonians against Judah. They destroyed their land. They destroyed their cities. They destroyed their capital. They destroyed the temple. And they took their king and they brought him into exile and they brought a lot of the people into exile. And in God's grace to Israel and Judah, he later had Cyrus, king of Persia, look with favor. And Cyrus sent out a decree to have these exiles, or those who wanted to, to return, to go back to the land. And so many did. But they returned to this land, and they returned to not an independent kingdom, but to a kingdom that was still under Persia. There was no return of their king. And they returned, and they rebuilt the temple. But the book of Ezra tells us that there were those that cried when they saw the temple because it was so much smaller, so much less grand than the temple of Solomon. And we read in Nehemiah that it took over a hundred years for them to get the walls up of their capital city, Jerusalem. And so they returned, but to a land that was still very much destroyed, a land that was still very much broken. And not everybody returned. Some stayed. As we'll see here with Esther and Mordecai, if we read on later in the book, there were some who stayed out and were still living as exiles, or we could say pilgrims, in this vast empire that was the Persian Empire. And so there were those who looked at it and said, we read the stories of the Exodus and the splitting of the Red Sea and the plagues and all these signs and wonders. Why don't we have those in our day? Where is God in this? Where are all the miracles that we were expecting? Where are all these signs and wonders? Instead, they look around and they either live in this backwater province of Yehud or they're just these nobodies living amongst the Persians in their great empire. All they see around is Persian armies, Persian might, Persian glory, Persian wealth. And they wonder, where is God? What is he doing? Is he doing anything? Is he still working? And the book of Esther is very much written to these people, to this Jewish community that was doubting, confronted by doubts. Oh, for those good old days when God actually worked out in the open and we could see it and look at it, see his signs and wonders. And so it's to confront them. And I think it's very apt for us in our day too. As we likewise don't see God visibly working around us in the ways that he's worked at other times. And we might be called to doubt. We might tend to doubt and look at it in question. So, chapter 1 starts and it reminded me a little bit of a TV show. I didn't watch very often, but every once in a while growing up. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It's been a while since it's been on TV. So those of you who are younger out there, I guess there are other shows somewhat like it. There's one called The Fabulous Life of Whoever Put in the Character. But Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It was hosted by this guy with, you know, nice British accent, so it sounded fancy. And he would go to these people's houses who were multi, multi millionaires, billionaires, very rich. And they had these houses that nobody could possibly use all the rooms of. They had grounds around them with their own swimming pool, tennis court, golf cart, golfing range, you know, whatever it was that they wanted. and you'd go and see the exquisite detail, the golden faucets in their bathrooms, and these other things that were just crazy, that you would be amazed. See, their garage is filled with fancy cars, and you were just amazed at their wealth, the show that they could put on with that wealth. Well, that was all small change compared to Xerxes. He put them all to shame. He was the ruler of the known world. He was the undisputed powerhouse of that time. He ruled this vast empire from India all the way to Kush or Egypt. And he could do what he wanted. And he wanted everybody to know who he was, what he had, what he could do. And so he throws a party. Now, this isn't a normal party. This is incredible. This is for everybody who's anybody in the empire. They're all coming. And he does it for six months. 180 days. A six-month party. And verse 4 gives us the reason he does this. Why is he doing this? To reward people to do this? No, to show off. He is doing this to show off his stuff. For a full 180 days, he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. He wants people to know what he has and how that reflects on him. He wants them to know, in case they had any doubt, that he is the man. He is the superpower. He is the king of the world. And he has anything and everything that anybody could ever want. And not only one of it, thousands of it. He has it all. He wants to show it off. He wants them to see what it is he has. And so, after six months, he decides to have an after party, a little smaller gathering. This is just for the whole city of Susa. And so, he has this second party for seven days for the people of his capital. And this is where we get some description. We look in verse 6, it tells us, The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl, and other costly stones. So it's not only that there was all this drapery and all this gold that you would sit on and see. You even look down. You're afraid to walk around. The ground is studded with gems. This is exquisite. This is impressive stuff. And if you got to this party, it wasn't just what you saw there. You got your own gold goblet. As it says, he didn't use anything but the best. Wine was served in goblets of gold. So you got to hold one of the king's goblets and drink from it. And that probably wasn't even the best part. What was inside? It was the best wine you ever had. And again, the text makes it clear that all of this was to show off the king. This was wine, the royal wine, to show his liberality, to show his greatness. And this party had one rule. There are no rules. There will be no restraint. That's what really we find there in verse 8. By the king's command, each guest was allowed to drink in his own way. Though it's even more vague there really that he could probably drink as much as he wanted to. So the only rule that the king had was no restraint. Everybody, he commanded them all to serve every man what he wanted, when he wanted, because this was the king's party. And he would show what he had. There were no limits. Xerxes was trying to impress. And, no doubtedly, he was succeeding. I'm sure many who came stood in awe and wonder of this man. Who was this man who had this power and wealth? He was trying to increase his standing, his honor, his fan base, we could say. And it seems to be working. But then we read on. And as we read on, it struck me that it's similar to a scene I've seen in various movies where you have some character and that character is trying to show off that he's a tough guy or trying to show off that he's important, he's something. Nobody messes with him. He has it going on. You don't want to tussle with him. And at that point in the movie, his mom walks in and comes over and hits him on the back of the head or pulls on his ear or something, and his total demeanor changes. And you see how much of a show it was. You look at him totally different now. You look at him different as he's shown in a different light. And I think that's what we find here in our text. As the author builds up all of this vast wealth and this party that Xerxes has, we then find something else about him. And it starts out with the one little detail in verse 9 that the king's having his party, but Queen Vashti has her own banquet for the women of the royal palace, or in the royal palace of King Xerxes. And this accords with what we know that really these parties, they were for men only. There were maybe entertainers there or other things, but real women, real dignified women didn't go to Persian drinking parties. It was for the men only. And so Queen Vashti rightly has her own banquet. Well, King Xerxes, on the last day of this second party, as he's been drinking and it's been making him happy, he decides to show off the one thing that he hasn't showed off yet. The one thing that he hasn't used to show who he is, to show what he's made of. And that's his wife, his queen, Queen Vashti. And it's very clear in the text that we have a parallel here. The verb used in verse 4 as he wants to show off his wealth, show off his greatness, is used there in verse 11 as the king commands that she be brought in, why, to show her off. To display her as this thing among other things that he has that reflect his greatness and his glory. And so, with the great pomp of a great king, he sends seven people, seven eunuchs, to go fetch her in all ceremony. And at this pinnacle, when he's going to show off his queen, she refuses. She doesn't come. Everybody gasps. Oh my, what has just happened? She doesn't come. And he gets angry. And in many ways, what he's been doing for six months, portraying himself as the greatest king in all the world, is done away in a moment. Even his wife doesn't obey him. Oh my, what is this? And we're not told why it is that Queen Vashti didn't come. And partly because I don't think the author wants us to focus on that. That shouldn't be our focus here. It's very much so on shattering this image of Xerxes. Shattering this well-crafted image he has as his wife disobeys him in front of all his guests. But we probably should be sympathetic to her. He is doing something rather foolish. We're told it's only by the influence of the wine that he does it. And it certainly would have been a demeaning thing for her to come prancing out like a dancing girl in front of all his drinking buddies. And it would have been improper, as we mentioned, that you, as a proper woman, you don't attend the male parties. But the focus really is on the shattering of this image of Xerxes. And he is furious. And as we read on, it only gets better. It only further shows us that Xerxes and the Persian Empire aren't really everything they look like they are. They aren't everything they seem to be or want to be seen to be. It is in many ways humorous as we read on what happens as it deflates our image of Xerxes and the Persians. This great king of the whole world doesn't know what to do when his wife refuses him. He has to ask the seven high officials of the land. He has to make this into a matter of state and turn to them. What should happen here? and so we find trotted out here these seven officials with their great titles they're the ones with close access to the king they're the ones that are first in the land the ones who know the laws and the decrees and all of these things they are the best they are the brightest and so we're looking for them to give the king some really good advice here to give him you know really see what's happening and come up with a wise plan but what do we find out as we look in verse 16 and following we find out that that they're worried about going home they're worried about what their wives will do when they return home they're worried that this will have a effect on the whole Persian empire that it will destroy the home lives of everyone. And so these great nobles, these great leaders, they're just as distraught as King Xerxes. They think that this may undermine their own authority, these rulers, these counselors that have all these titles. And so we really are, I think, supposed to snicker and laugh as they imagine this one incident bringing all the authority and family life in Persia into disarray and into confusion. And then we see not only their concern, we then see the law they want to do. the law they propose to fix it. And as we read this law, again, we're somewhat struck. This is maybe a little ironic, a little humorous, how they're going to fix this empire-wide problem that's been created. And so the first thing they're worried about, right, is that everybody will find out what Vashti did, what Queen Vashti did. And so they make a law that they're going to publish throughout the whole empire in every language and every tongue, telling everybody what Queen Vashti did. So now everybody will know what she did, what they were worried about. And the punishment, the punishment for Queen Vashti, well, it's the very thing she did. She said she wouldn't come. So now let's make a law she can't come. It's as if you go in and you say, I quit. And your boss more quickly says, no, you're fired. I was the one who got there. So if she thinks she can't come to the king, well, then we'll make it a law that she can't come to the king. And we really wonder about the effectiveness of this Persian law. The word of the king didn't work so well when he was commanding Vashti to come before him. Will this law of the king really work that much better? As it goes out, and by law establishes every man as ruler in his own house, we seriously doubt it. The king can't accomplish it in his own house. How does he expect to accomplish it in his empire? And we could add to this the beginning of chapter 2. Chapter 2, verse 1, we read, Later, when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. Now, it doesn't tell us his thoughts there, but we get at them in that his personal attendants right away propose a way to find a new queen. The king, the night after, the effects of the wine have worn off, And he looks back and sees his foolishness. He misses his queen. He wishes the law wasn't there, that she couldn't come now. And so he has been tied by his law that he has made. He has been fooled by his advisors into doing this, this foolish thing. And so, chapter 1 here, very much this pride and pomp of Xerxes and the Persians, this image that's portrayed in those first verses, it's undercut. It isn't what it seems to be. It's their show, what they want us to see. And yet, it's not reality. And in that, the chapter, chapter 1 here, is essential as we read the rest of the book of Esther. That we now have a different opinion of Xerxes. And we see that carried out. That he isn't this almighty great king. He's rather a somewhat sensitive egotist who's overly dependent on his advisors. Easily swayed to make rash decisions. And these laws of the Persians, they aren't the process of some great wise bureaucracy. They're a little haphazard and they're not as high and mighty as they would be portrayed. And so I think we need to see that here. Though we can also see in chapter 1, though it's more muted I would say, but I think it is important as we read on, that even though Xerxes and the Persians are ridiculed here, we do see that there is potential danger. There is potential things that could go wrong. They may be bumbling. They may not be wise as they think, but they still do have power. And Queen Vashti, she stood up to the king. She opposed the king. And it did have consequences. She was banished from his presence. She was deposed as queen. And so these details as we continue on in Esther are brought out in various ways as we find the king making another rash decree. This one much more harmful as it's a decree to have all of the Jews in the whole entire empire killed. And we also sense the tension as Esther is called upon to break the law of the king. To publicly shame him by coming without being called. And so we see how dangerous that is, how frightful that is, as she is called upon to intercede for her people. But as we read it, we keep these things in mind. And this first chapter calls us, as we continue to read, to look below the surface. To look beyond the show, to discern what lies beyond the sequence of events. The focus in chapter 1 is looking beyond world powers, looking beyond those who have this power over us. And so as we said, it doesn't downplay the dangers that are there. It does call us to give and view their pomp and their pride in a different way. that it is show, that it will pass away, that they are not as powerful, they are not as honorable and everything as they pretend. And so it undercuts for us this view of Persia and Xerxes. But it doesn't just undercut it. It also replaces this with a correct view of the world. A correct view of what's going on. A biblical view of life. Of a God who is active in history. A God who is active in saving his people. But it does it in the strangest way. It does it by not mentioning God. Read through the book of Esther. And you don't find God's name. It's not on any page. The only book of the Bible that is that way. And this is where we use this perspective we have in chapter 1 as we read through. And we see these events happening. Esther becomes queen. She finds favor with the king. Mordecai, he discovers a plot against the king and saves the king. The king has a sleepless night one night that has various implications. Esther, when she approaches the king, she finds favor. We see all these events and we're called to view them in a different way because of this perspective we have from chapter 1. We're supposed to look below the surface. We're supposed to see what the author isn't telling us, or at least isn't telling us explicitly. We're supposed to see God at work, a God who is at work in history, who is the Lord of history. And to see this salvation that comes about as not just the work of Mordecai and Esther as they work and get the king to change his decree. No, it is the salvation that is brought through the working of the Lord as he uses. As he uses secondary means. And this salvation that we see him bring here, again, it points us. It points us forward to the ultimate salvation that he is working in history to bring about. That he has brought about in Jesus Christ through his life, death, and resurrection. And so as readers, the book of Esther forces us to make a decision. It forces us to make a choice. God isn't mentioned. The surface story is just about these various characters and their actions and their outcomes. And yet from chapter 1, we know we're supposed to look closer. What's on the surface isn't necessarily what is true, what is real. The Persian king and his Persian government isn't everything it seems to be. And so let us remember again who this book is written to. Written first off to that doubting Jew. To the Jewish people in this time after exile who are looking about them and saying, Where is God? Is he doing anything? Where are all the miracles? Where are all the signs and wonders I wanted to see? And as he reads Esther, he's confronted. Will he read it? Read it in the perspective of the Persians. Will he read it in the perspective of those who don't see God there, just as this sequence of events? Or will, as he's reading through it, acknowledge the God who is unseen? Acknowledge the God of history. Will he read it and repent of his unbelief, his unbelief in that great God? And I think we also need to be confronted with that choice, with that calling. We pick up a newspaper that doesn't mention God, except maybe to mock God. I haven't seen too many signs and wonders. I haven't heard God thunder from a mountain. I don't know about you. I see people out there going about their work and play, the hustle and bustle of life, powerful people, rich people. We're all so easily dazed, dazzled and awed by that. We look at life, one event leads to another. It just continues on. It's life. It's a saying in our culture. But the book of Esther, and really the rest of the Bible, calls us to look below the surface. to know that there is a God in control. Now, I must emphasize one thing, that by this Esther and the rest of the Bible is calling us to try to analyze providence, see what each and every event in our life means, if it's some sort of sign of what we should do for this or that. That's not what the Bible calls us to do. But it's instead something much more comforting than that. It's to look at the world and not just see the hustle and the bustle all around us. But to see through that and to know God is at work. To look at the circumstances where God is not mentioned and know that he is present. To have faith in this God of promise, the one who keeps his promises. And so, dear people of God, the book of Esther calls us and it comforts us. For this world is, as we see here, often a dangerous and scary place. And yet, the God who controls it all is our God. Is the God who loves us. the God who saved us through his Son, and the God who will bring us to glory. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, may we have the eyes of faith as we go about our lives, And may we have the confidence of knowing your promises to us, knowing your power over this, your creation, and knowing your love. And so may we step out in all that you've called us to, knowing that you are the one who is working through us. And may we cling to that. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you.