25-Nehemiah 4 – Esther 7
Jun. 13, 2009
This week we will continue looking through the Book of Nehemiah. Last week we studied the first two waves of returning exiles to the city of Jerusalem in the Book of Ezra. Then we began our study of the third and final wave of resettlement in the beginning chapters of the Book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had the ear of the king of Persia and a burden for the condition of the walls and gates of Jerusalem. He petitioned the king to let him travel to Jerusalem and repair the city wall and the gates. Jerusalem was unprotected from invaders with so much damage to its wall. The king allowed him to go and supervise the work. When he arrived in the city he inspected the damage and assigned people to work on the different areas. There was opposition to the work by the foreign leaders of the land who did not want to see the Jewish people prosper. Work had begun and in Chapter 4 their efforts were ridiculed by Sanballat and the wealthy men of Samaria. The people were demoralized but continued working on the walls. They prayed to the Lord for the strength to complete the task and for protection from their enemies. When Nehemiah saw their fear he encouraged the people with these words in Chapter 4:14 “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.” The people armed themselves and continued to work on the walls. Half of the people would do the work while the other half would stand guard in breastplates, with spears, bows, and shields. They carried trumpets as a rally call if they were attacked. When the sound of a trumpet was heard the people shouted “Our God will fight for us”. In Chapter 5 the people were angry and so desperate for food to feed their families that they had to mortgage their homes and fields to purchase what they needed to survive. Nehemiah heard their plight and was angry with their Jewish brothers who were charging interest on the loans. This practice was in direct opposition to Gods Law spoken by Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy 23:19-20 “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. “You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.” Nehemiah abolished the collection of interest and led by example. The Jews who repopulated Jerusalem needed to honor the Lord and work together in order to survive. Sanballat, Tobias, and the other enemies of Nehemiah tried to lure him out of the city to do him harm after the work on the walls were completed. The new gates had not yet been hung and the city was still vulnerable to attack. Even though they had sent four messages he was too busy to reply. Nehemiah’s enemies were angry and made up lies that the Jews were attempting to set up their own kingdom when the city was fortified. Nehemiah did not fear his enemies and the work on the gates and walls were finished. After this in Chapter 7 a census was taken of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The city could now be closed up and protected. The gates would only be opened during the time the sun was hot and guards were present. In Chapter 8 Ezra the scribe was asked to bring the Book of the Law of Moses to the city and read it in its entirety to the people. Ezra did this in the square in front of the Water Gate of Jerusalem. The people all listened to Ezra with attention and understanding. Nehemiah, who was governor at the time, proclaimed the day as holy and told the people to not mourn or weep. The people went away and celebrated the Feast of Booths that was written of in the Law they had just heard. The people confessed their sin and the Levites prepared a document to the Lord that all the people signed. The people recognized the obligations of the covenant they signed before the Lord. Chapter 11 and the beginning of Chapter 12 list the leaders of the Jewish people and the names of the Levites who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. The wall was dedicated and procedures were set up concerning the order of the temple service. On the day of dedication, in Chapter 13, foreigners were excluded from the temple. The Ammonites and the Moabites were mentioned by name because they did not care for Israel, but hired Balaam to curse God’s people. Tobiah was expelled from the temple and the building was cleansed. The tithe was restored to provide for the Levites in the temple and also the Sabbath day was observed. At this time the practice of the Jewish people intermarrying with foreigners was forbidden. This ends the Book of Nehemiah. We will now begin the final book of the historical books of the Bible, the Book of Esther. The Book of Esther took place during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah at the end of the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon. The book chronicles the events that occurred in the Persian capitol of Susa during this time. The name of God is not mentioned anywhere in the book, but His provision for His people is obvious throughout. The book opens with a one hundred eighty day exhibition of excess in the form of a banquet by the king of Persia and his officers. The king held this event to show off his wealth and power to the people. After the spectacle Ahasuerus the king invited all of the people from the most prominent to the least to an exclusive seven day feast in the garden of the king’s palace. The people all did much drinking and no limits were placed on consumption. The queen, Vashti, also held a feast for the women in the palace at the same time. On the seventh day of the feast, when the king and his guests were extremely intoxicated, Ahasuerus sent for his Queen to parade her beauty before his guests. Vashti refused to lower herself to the king’s demands and remained in the palace. The words of the king of Persia were law and unable to be revoked. Ahasuerus was angry at being defied and had an edict written up that banned Queen Vashti from his presence forever. The edict also pleased the king’s guests because it commanded all the women of the kingdom to honor their husbands. It was not recorded what became of Vashti, but we do know that her stand against the king to not display herself to a crowd of drunken men caused her to be removed from her place of prominence and wealth. Sometimes making the right decision can have severe consequences in our lives. When we decide to follow the Lord we will also be excluded from some of the people we used to be friends with. When the king’s anger subsided he sent his attendants throughout the kingdom to gather up all the young beautiful virgin women to find a replacement for the banished Queen Vashti. The women were brought from their homes to the palace and given cosmetics and clothing to present themselves to the king. The woman who most pleased the king would be elevated to queen and a position of honor in the kingdom. There was a Jew in the city of Susa named Mordecai who was a Benjaminite from the family of Kish, and a descendant of King Saul. He had a cousin living with him named Hadassah, or Esther that he raised as his own daughter. Mordecai recognized the opportunity for Esther and allowed her to go to the palace with the other women. He told her not to let it be known that she was a Jew. Mordecai went every day and walked before the court of the harem to see how Esther was doing. Esther found favor with the eunuch in charge of the women and was given special treatment. The women spent an entire year of preparation before they were able to see the king. When Esther’s turn came to present herself to the king she found favor with all she passed and the king made her his queen. After Esther was made queen Mordecai was at the gate of the city and overheard two of the king’s guards planning to overthrow the kingdom. He told Esther about the plot and the king was informed. The two guards were captured and hanged. The king was told by Esther that it was Mordecai who was her source of information about the plot and who was responsible for spoiling their plans. In Chapter 3 after this event King Ahasuerus promoted a man named Haman to be in charge of his kingdom. The people were commanded by the king to bow down to Haman and lie prostrate before him in obedience. Mordecai refused to bow before Haman. The king’s servants questioned Mordecai on why he refused the king’s order concerning Haman. Mordecai did not answer them until finally he revealed that he was a Jew. It is believed there was a great deal of anti-Semitism in Susa during this time and was the reason Mordecai kept his and Esther’s heritage secret. In regards to Haman there had been a thousand year feud between going on between the families of Mordecai and Haman. Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin and also a descendant of King Saul. We read before in the Book of 1 Samuel 15 where Saul angered the Lord and lost the rule over Israel to David when he spared King Agag of the Amalekites. Haman was a descendent of King Agag and harbored an intense hatred for the Jews because they defeated his people and hacked Agag to pieces. Mordecai, being a Benjaminite, could not bow down to a descendent of the man who caused the downfall of Saul. Haman found out who Mordecai was and devised a scheme to rid the land of the entire Jewish race. Satan attempted to use Haman to block the family line to Jesus Christ. Haman lied to Ahasuerus and asked his permission to remove a people who were a threat to the kingdom. The king gave Haman his signet ring and allowed him to do whatever he wished. Haman wrote an edict that specified the extermination of the Jewish people on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. The document was sealed with the king’s ring and issued throughout the land. This edict was now law and could not be revoked by anyone, even the king himself. When Mordecai heard of the edict he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He mourned for what was to happen to his people. The rest of the Jews in the city also fasted and mourned with weeping and wailing. Queen Esther also heard about the new law from her maidens and eunuchs. She sent one of the king’s eunuchs named Hathach to Mordecai with some new clothes to hide himself. Mordecai refused and told Hathach about Haman’s plot and sent a copy of the edict for Esther to read. Mordecai wanted Esther to go to the king and plead for her people. Esther was afraid to disturb the king because if she was not granted an audience it would mean her death. Mordecai replied to Esther with these words from Chapter 4:13-14 “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” Esther then told the Jews to fast for three day and she also would do the same with her maidens then go to the king. After three days Esther put on her royal robes and went to see the king. When Ahasuerus saw her he touched the top of his scepter and granted her an audience with him. The king favored Esther and asked her what was troubling her. She requested that a banquet would be held for Haman, herself and the king the next day. The king agreed and commanded the banquet be prepared. Haman was happy that night when he left the palace because of the honor of being invited to the banquet. His mood changed when he passed Mordecai at the city gate and he still would not bow down. He complained about Mordecai to his friends and wife when he reached his home. They suggested that he prepare a large gallows outside and hang Mordecai from it before he went to the banquet. Haman liked the idea and had the gallows made. That night King Ahasuerus could not sleep and asked for the book of records to be brought to him and read. The Lord caused Ahasuerus his distress in order to set up the events which followed. In the record book it was found out that Mordecai had received no honor for saving the kings life when his guards plotted to overthrow him. Ahasuerus was upset at this oversight and was planning what to do when Haman came in to tell the king about his plans to hang Mordecai. Before he could tell the king he was told to take a royal robe and one of the kings own horses and lead Mordecai around the kingdom in honor. Haman was forced to honor the king’s request and when he was finished he went home in anguish. His wife and friends no longer felt sorry for him, but predicted his downfall for his treatment of the Jews. Haman was then rushed to Esther’s banquet. During the second day of the banquet when Haman was present the king asked Esther her request. Esther told him that she was one of the people in which the order was written for extermination. She asked for her own life and also for the lives of her people. She told the king she would not have troubled him if they were only sold into slavery. She could not do nothing and cause all of her people to be lost. The king asked who wrote this order and Esther turned and said in Chapter 7:6 “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” The king became very angry and left the room. Haman was terrified of Esther and the king, and was found by Ahasuerus falling on the couch where Esther was sitting. Ahasuerus returned and thought Haman was assaulting Esther. He gave an order to have Haman hanged on his own gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. This ends our study for this week. Next week we will conclude the Book of Esther and begin the Book of Job.