WHERE IS GOD WHEN GOD’S NOT THERE?

Esther 2:5-7 (KJV)

Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

The Book of Esther is one of the most intriguing books in our Bible.

The story is compelling, dramatic and full of intrigue.

• ·   There are spies, informants, assassins and opportunists
• ·   There is a grudge that is carried something 600 years
• ·   There is a Cinderella story of a poor Jewish girl who becomes queen
• ·   There is a plot to annihilate an entire race of people
• ·   There is an upset that ends in the defeat of their enemies

From the theological point of view the most intriguing thing about the book of Esther is,

• ·   There is no mention of God at all

This has caused any number of theological airheads to argue that it should not be in the Bible.

It must not be, they reason, a godly book if God is not in it.

They forget that, in the process of regular life, we all go through times when God is not seen in:

·   The words that are spoken or

·   The letters that are written but in

·   The actions that are taken

How we behave speaks much more about God’s presence in our lives that what we say does.

That leads me to bring the message I have for you this morning, “Where is God When God’s Not There?”

We contend that, though God in not mentioned by name in the book of Esther, He is clearly present.

God is seen,

I. IN THE CHARACTER OF THE MAN NAMED MORDECAI

Esther 2:5-7 (KJV)

Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

This point brings in the theme of my preaching for this year, “Ye Which Are Spiritual.”

Though the Bible never uses the word Spiritual to refer to Mordecai, he is, without question, an example of spirituality.

Mordecai was a Jew, very likely taken captive by the Babylonians. He has a cousin named Esther, whose parents were probably killed during the conquest. Mordecai takes her in and raises her.

Give the circumstances it would not have been that difficult for Mordecai to take up a grudge against the Babylonian king, looking for opportunities to do him evil.

It is not at all what we see, what we know is that:

A. He stayed at the king’s gate

Esther 2:11-19 (KJV)

And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.

Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house.

In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.

Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.

So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.

And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate.

One of the things that I have learned in studying history is to judge a person according to their experience and not according to our own.

Historians recognize, for instance, that George Washington owned slaves.

But they also acknowledge that he believed slavery to be wrong.

How is it possible for the two of those things to be equally true?

It’s because of the day in which he lived.

He believed it to be wrong, he just had not figured out how to free them without creating havoc:

·   On the economy and

·   On the slaves themselves

He and Jefferson and Madison all believed that slavery must be ended but that you couldn’t just dismiss them all – it would be about that same as closing down all the car factories.

·   You would ruin those businesses and

·   You would leave all those people without the means to taker care of their families.

The people who are knocking down the statues in the south are trying to interpret history according to their own experience. They are making unwise choices because of it.

Same thing happens with much of the Old Testament.

Be careful about judging Mordecai and Esther (or God for that matter) for doing things you wouldn’t do today.

Esther, this Jewish girl gets to be queen partly by not telling the king she is a Jew.

And Mordecai encouraged her not to tell!

Every day, the Bible says, that Esther was in the palace, preparing herself to meet the king, Mordecai came to the king’s gate to see how she faired.

I liken this to coming every day to the throne of God to see how my kids are doing – to petition the Lord for them.

While he was there

B. He listened to the leaders’ speaking

Esther 2:21-22 (KJV)

In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.

And the thing was known to Mordecai, …

While Mordecai is at the King’s gate, he makes himself an informed person.

Mordecai found out about the plot to kill the king, but he also very likely found out about a lot of other things.

If you are going to be at the throne of God you might as well learn all you can while you are there.

·   Learn about God’s plans

·   Learn about God’s prophesies and

·   Learn about God’s promises

·   Learn about God’s principles

·   Learn about God’s precepts and

·   Learn about God’s proclamations

While you are learning those things, you will also, no doubt learn that God has an enemy and that we are not ignorant of his devices.

Once Mordecai learned about the plot

C. He protected his king’s life

Esther 2:22-23 (KJV)

And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name.

And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Mordecai was an informant to the king.

He didn’t just know that someone was taking dirt about the king,

Mordecai told on them!

There is a difference between gossip and taking action with your words:

·   Gossip tells things that might not be true to people who can’t do anything about what you tell them

·   Action tells things we know or suspect to be true to those who can do something constructive with what you tell them

Further,

D. He trusted the Lord’s timing

Esther 4:13-14 (KJV)

Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

We’ve obvious jumped a bit forward in the book, by this time.

Another character has been introduced into the drama of the book of Esther, Haman.

Haman has two very big character flaws:

1. He is a self-centered man

2. He has a grudge against the Jews

Haman is so focused on himself and his own ambitions that it’s going to kill him. Before it does, it almost kills off all of Israel.

Haman worked for the king and in his roll, felt like he deserved to be reverenced. When everyone bows to him except Mordecai, Haman can’t bear it.

The reason Mordecai won’t bow is because he is a Jew.

Haman, the Bible tells us, was an Agagite.

His story goes back nearly 600 years when Israel’s first king, Saul was commanded to kill all of the Amelekites.[1]

The king of the Amelekites was a man named Agag. Saul did not kill him but took him captive. When the prophet Samuel found out, he pronounced that the kingdom would be removed from Saul and he hewed Agag to pieces.

Haman’s ancestors had apparently survived that attack by the Jews, carried the story from generation to generation and Haman hated the Jews because of it.

That’s not surprising.

There are people to this day who say they won’t worship a God who commanded the Jews to wipe out whole nations or who allowed the persecutions carried out by Christians so-called during the Dark Ages.

Haman makes plans to kill all the Jews in the realm of Babylon.

Mordecai believes that God has put Esther on the throne for such a time as this.

And then

E. He saw God’s protection

God worked things in such a way that:

·   Mordecai was publically honored and Haman was the man who had to make it happen

·   Haman was killed on the gallows he had constructed for Mordecai and

·   The Jews were spared and their enemies were destroyed

God is present in the book of Esther in a man of character named Mordecai.

God is seen,

II. IN THE PLACING OF ESTHER AS QUEEN

Esther 4:13-14 (KJV)

Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Mordecai’s question to Queen Esther is one that has to be considered.

·   She is from a despised nation of people

·   She is the child of killed parents

·   She is an orphan raised by her unknown cousin

·   She becomes queen of the most powerful country in the world at that time and

·   She happens to be queen at the precise time a very real threat is made against her race

The odds of this happening by chance are just impossible.

This is God.

I want to tell you today….

God is.

·   You may not feel Him in every moment of your day

·   You may not see Him in all of the problems you face

·   You may not think that He cares about you and your life

But God is.

·   That there is a planet that will sustain life is a matter only explainable by God

·   That there is an ecological system that sustains life on this planet is only explainable by God

·   That there is a being such as is human, who is aware of his existence, knowledgeable of his past and considerate of his future is only explainable by God

God is

And because He is we are as accountable to Him as Esther was in her day.

Where is God when God is not there?

God is seen,

III. IN THE PROTECTION OF THE APPLE OF HIS EYE

Esther 10:1-3 (KJV)

And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.

And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

Ahasuerus is believed to be Xerxes, the father of Darius, who made Daniel chief among the presidents.

Even when things seemed terrible for the Jews:

·   They were captives

·   They were homeless

·   They were hated

God was looking out for them, giving them evidence of His love and of His plan for their good.

And the same thing is true for you.

·   God does love you.

·   God has prepared every good thing possible for you

You might be facing problems that seem impossible to overcome just now, but do not lose heart or hope.

Conclusion

Perhaps you are here this morning without hope your sins forgiven and an eternal home in heaven.

It is as simple to have as for the asking

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Let us show you from the Bible how to be saved for sure – forever.

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[1] 1 Samuel 15.