The Providence of God # 2

Book of Esther 

In this new Series we are studying the Providence of God and using the Old Testament Book of Esther which describes Haman’s wicked plot to kill all the Jews in Persia and how God saved them 

In the Introductory Message of this new Series, we began by saying that there is NO mention of God’s name anywhere in the Book of Esther but there is overwhelming evidence of the Providence of God throughout the Book of Esther  

Firstly, we see the Providence of God at work in the Persian Empire and learn that God ordains the rise and fall of nations 

Esther 1: 1; Esther 8: 9; Esther 9: 30; Daniel 2: 21a; Acts 17: 26b 

The Persian Empire which is often referred to as Media and Persia existed between 536BC – 336 BC  

The Persians were originally from southern Russia and came south to conquer the Babylonian Empire 

The events that are recorded in the Book of Esther happened during the reign of King Xerxes between 485 BC – 465 BC 

Esther 1: 1; Esther 1: 3, 14, 18-19, 10: 2 

Here’s the BIG question:  

Why were God’s people in Persia? 

To answer that we need to go back to the time of Israel’s 3^rd king - Solomon 

In Israel’s ‘Golden Age’ (970 – 931 BC) during the reign of Solomon, God warned Solomon and Israel, 1 Kings 9: 6-7 ‘if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.’ 

And just a few short years later, Solomon and Israel did exactly that; they abandoned God, they disobeyed His commands and decrees, and they served and worshiped other gods - In fact, their idol worship got so bad they even sacrificed their children to Moloch and burned them alive in furnaces in the Valley of Hinnom, just outside the walls of Jerusalem 

After the death of King Solomon God’s punishment came quickly upon Israel and they spiraled down into civil war; they split into the Northern Kingdom called Israel and the Southern Kingdom called Judah 

Then the Lord raised up the Assyrian Empire to conquer the Northern Kingdom and scatter the people throughout the nations (740 – 721 BC) – these became known as the ‘10 lost tribes of Israel’, 1 Chronicles 5: 26 ‘the God of Israel raised up King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser) to invade the land and take away the people’, and, 2 Kings 17: 6b ‘the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria.’ ^{NLT, WYC Combo}                                                                                                                                   

2 Kings 17: 21-23; Isaiah 10: 5-34  

But when the Assyrian army acted in defiance of God and invaded Judah (701 BC) the Lord destroyed their army, 2 Kings 19: 35 ‘That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.’              

Chronicles 32: 5 

Remember, God ordains the rise and fall of nations  

Then the Lord raised up the Babylonian Empire to conquer the Assyrian Empire (612 BC) and take Judah and Jerusalem into exile along with some of the treasures from the Temple in Jerusalem (605-586 BC) 

2 Chronicles 36: 17 ‘So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.’                                                                                                               

2 Kings 24: 1-15; 2 Kings 25: 1-22   

(The Lord said that Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, Jeremiah 27: 6 ‘is My servant.’) 

Jeremiah 21: 4-10 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside your walls attacking you. In fact, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city. I myself will fight against you with a strong hand and a powerful arm, for I am very angry. You have made Me furious! I will send a terrible plague upon this city, and both people and animals will die. And after all that, says the Lord, I will hand over King Zedekiah, his staff, and everyone else in the city who survives the disease, war, and famine. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their other enemies. He will slaughter them and show them no mercy, pity, or compassion. Tell all the people, this is what the Lord says: Take your choice of life or death! Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life! For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.’ 

Then, 2 Chronicles 36: 20 ‘He (Nebuchadnezzar) carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power.’                                       

Psalm 137: 1-6                                                                                                           

Then the Lord raised up King Cyrus and the Persian Empire to conquer the Babylonians and in the same year Cyrus sent most of the exiled Jewish Community back to Judah and Jerusalem along with the treasures from the temple that were stolen by the Babylonians, Isaiah 13: 17a ‘I will stir up the Medes against Babylon’   

Isaiah 21: 2; Isaiah 51: 11, 28; Daniel 5: 25-31; 6: 8, 12, 15, 28; 8: 20; 10: 1,13, 20;  11: 2 

Remember, God ordains the rise and fall of nations 

The Lord said, Isaiah 45: 13 ‘I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill My righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore My city and free My captive people— without seeking a reward! I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!’                                                                                                                                   

2 Chronicles 36: 20, 22-23; Ezra 1: 1-4, 7-8; Ezra 6: 3-5; Isaiah 44: 28  

When the exiled Jewish Community returned to Judah and Jerusalem, they praised God for His Providence, Ezra 9: 9 ‘For we were slaves, but in His unfailing love our God did not abandon us in our slavery. Instead, He caused the kings of Persia to treat us favorably. He revived us so we could rebuild the Temple of our God and repair its ruins. He has given us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.’ 

Upon the exiles return to Judah and Jerusalem they rebuilt the wall around the city (Nehemiah), they rebuilt the temple (Zerubbabel), and re-established worship that was guided by the priests and the Prophets and never again did Israel serve and worship other gods or sacrifice their children in the fires of Moloch 

Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi 

This was a part fulfillment of the promise that God made to Solomon, 1 Kings 11: 39 ‘Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David—though not forever.’ 

However, the tragic consequences of Israel’s sin against God during the reign of Solomon continued long after that when Israel was conquered by the Greeks and then by the Romans 

During the Roman Period, Israel was torn apart for a 2^nd time by civil war which was brutally put down by the Romans who also destroyed the 2nd temple in AD 70 

After the Roman Period Israel was conquered again, this time by the Arab nations, then by the European Crusaders, then by the Egyptian Mameluke dynasty, and then by the Ottoman Empire which lasted all the way up to 1923, just after the 1^st World War  

Remember, God ordains the rise and fall of nations 

Possibly the greatest tragedy of all for Israel was the mass genocide of the Jews by the Nazis in the 2^nd World War (1939 – 1945) - this was called the Holocaust 

At the close of the 2^nd World War God’s promise to Solomon was going to be fulfilled even further, when by the Providence of God on May 14^th 1948 Israel was re-established as a nation and continues to thrive today despite the 9 wars that have been fought against it in the last 50 years including the terrible mass genocide of the Jews on October 7^th 2023 

Remember, God ordains the rise and fall of nations 

Now, let’s get back to the BIG question  

Why were God’s people in Persia? 

The answer is this: God was demonstrating His Providence at work by saving the Jews who remained in Persia from a mass genocide that was planned by Haman - despite Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord, God is faithful in preserving His people for His purposes and for HIs glory 

Remember the promise that God made to Abraham, Genesis 12: 2-3 ‘I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.’ 

How would all the families of the earth be blessed through Abraham? 

After Abraham there were 14 generations to King David, and after David there were 14 generations to the exile of Judah and Jerusalem, and after the exile there were 14 generations to Israel’s Messiah our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Jeremiah 30: 9; Luke 2: 38; Galatians 4: 4-5  

Summary:                                                                                                                               

In His Providence God raises up nations and causes them to fall for His purposes and for His glory                                                                                                         

God raised up the Assyrian Empire to conquer and exile the Northern Kingdom of Israel and then He caused Assyria to fall to the Babylonian Empire 

God raised up the Babylonian Empire to conquer and exile Judah and Jerusalem and then He caused Babylon to fall to the Persian Empire 

And God raised up the Persian Empire to send most of the Jewish exiles back to Judah and Jerusalem and preserve the exiles that remained in Persia  

Esther 1: 1; Esther 8: 9; Esther 9: 30 

Application: 

Have you received the blessing of God through Abraham? 

God preserved Israel so that you could! 

Acts 4: 12b ‘Jesus is the only One who can save us.' ^NCV